curtail

/kɜːˈteɪl/

//kɜːˈteɪl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"curtail" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“curtail” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,620. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,620
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cut short the tail of (an animal).

Corpus desk

Index EN-curtail · curtail · English

curtail · rank #29,620 · 10 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,620
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH DACA

Nearest frequency peer: DACA (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “curtail”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “curtail” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

curtail vs Curtis
57% similar
curtail vs Curtin
57% similar
curtail vs curtain
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for curtail
PropertyValue
Headwordcurtail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kɜːˈteɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#29,620
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “curtail”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).curtaillands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “DACA” (#29,621), “Dakar” (#29,622), “Cranston” (#29,617). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curtail” is #29,620. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around curtail (IPA /kɜːˈteɪl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #29,620 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for curtail, with forms such as "ccurtail", "crutail", and "curatil". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Curtis", "Curtin", "curtain", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault The correct English form is curtail, spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cut short the tail of (an animal).
  2. 2
    To shorten or abridge the duration of; to bring an end to; to truncate.
  3. 3
    To limit or restrict; to keep in check.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how curtail appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
  2. When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.

Etymology

Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault

Synonyms

cropdockabbreviateshortenbehedgecontrollimitrestrain

This word in other languages

acortar(Español)écourter(Français)kupieren(Deutsch)encurtar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccurtail
  • crutail
  • curatil
  • currtail
  • curtaill
  • curtali
  • curtial
  • curttail
  • cutrail
  • ucrtail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of curtail - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccurtail1crutail2curatil2currtail1curtaill1curtali2curtial2curttail1
Edit distance from "curtail"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "curtail"?
"curtail" is spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kɜːˈteɪl/.
What does "curtail" mean?
As a verb, "curtail" means: To cut short the tail of (an animal).
What words are commonly confused with "curtail"?
"curtail" is commonly confused with "Curtis", "Curtin", "curtain". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "curtail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curtail" is /kɜːˈteɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "curtail"?
Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "curtail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Edmunds#29,637equated#29,642Esteban#29,643caverns#29,587

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

drifts10 variantsClarissa10 variantsfaceless10 variantscarmine10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list